Independent 11,269 / Bluth

Bluth has provided our cruciverbal entertainment for this Thursday.

I found this to be a medium-difficulty puzzle, which gave me a good workout but which did not inflict too much head-scratching for a mid-week puzzle.

I found some of the clues harder to parse than I found them to solve, with 13, 18 and 19 being examples of that, although I think that I got there in the end.

My favourite clues today were 1D, for its surprising definition; 18, for construction; 9, for surface reading; and 10, for making me smile when I solved the anagram.

*(…) indicates an anagram; definitions are italicised; // separates definitions in multiple-definition clues

Across    
     
01 ACROSS-THE-BOARD Actor initially displeased with Shakespeare describing love for all

A<ctor> (“initially” means first letter only) + CROSS (=displeased, angry) + [O (=love, i.e. zero score in tennis) in THE BARD (=Shakespeare)]

     
08 NOBLE Musk defending lab’s closure over fine

<la>B (“closure” means last letter only) in ELON (=Musk, i.e. Tesla and Twitter billionaire) ; “over” indicates reversal

     
09 PERMANENT Pound limits country after banks withdraw before debt’s term is fixed

[<g>ERMAN<y> (=country; “after banks withdraw” means first and last letters are dropped)] in PEN (=pound, enclosure)] + <deb>T (“term” means last letter only)

     
11 ATELIERS Studios see art film, essentially requires editing

*(SEE ART <f>IL<m>); “essentially” means middle letters only are used in anagram, indicated by “requires editing”

     
13 SWAZI South Africans barter with nothing – completely powerless

SWA<p> (=barter) + ZI<p> (=nothing, in US English); “completely power (=P)-less” means both letter “p”s are dropped

     
14 CHAOS Dog’s dinner – very large tea first

CHA (=tea) + OS (=very large, i.e. outsize)

     
16 SLAPSTICK Friends is returning with criticism for style of comedy

SLAP (PALS=friends; “is returning” indicates reversal) + STICK (=criticism, punishment)

     
19 MARTYRDOM Torment McFly, say – ultimately Tom Fletcher also joined Busted

MARTY (McFly, say, from the Back to the Future films) + *(<to>M <fletche>R <als>O <joine>D); “ultimately” means last letters only are used in anagram, indicated by “busted”

     
22 ARETE Ridge veteran discovered in retirement

<v>ETERA<n>; “dis-cover-ed” means first and last letters are dropped; “in retirement” indicates reversal; in geology, an arête is a sharp ridge

     
23 SWEEP Information about small puppet

WEE (=small) in SP (=(latest) information, in UK slang); Sooty and Sweep were puppets on UK TV, created by Harry Corbett

     
25 MARBLING In conclusion, silver jewellery on old woman shows veiny appearance

MA (=old woman) + <silve>R (“in conclusion” means last letter only) + BLING (=jewellery)

     
28 OPERATION Moving to open air for children’s game

*(OPEN AIR TO); “moving” is anagram indicator; Operation is game whereby one uses tongs to remove plastic bones and organs from a flat model of the human body

     
29 DUMBO Disney property’s function – hiding naked dance

<r>UMB<a> (“naked” means first and last letters are dropped) in DO (=function, party)

     
30 STAGE DIRECTION Somehow get actor inside for Noises Off?

*(GET ACTOR INSIDE); “somehow” is anagram indicator

     
Down    
     
01 ACNE Spots Henman finally breaking serve

<henma>N (“finally” means last letter only) in ACE (=serve, in tennis)

     
02 REBUT Turning knob – to disprove

TUBER (=knob, protuberance); “turning” indicates reversal

     
03 SEE court // witness

Double definition: to see someone is to court them, go out with them AND to see e.g. an accident is to witness one

     
04 TOPLESS Occasionally took pallet on ship with no cover

T<o>O<k> P<a>L<l>E (“occasionally” means alternate letters only) + SS (=ship, i.e. steamship)

     
05 EURASIA Nice road held up when on A1 northbound – a lot of people live here

EUR (RUE=Nice road, i.e. the French for road) + AS (=when, as conjunction) + IA (A1; “northbound” indicates vertical reversal)

     
06 OKAYS 4 wines getting permits

<t>OKAYS (=wines); “topless (=entry at 4)” means first letter is dropped

     
07 RE-EXAMINE Former partner appears in paper because of drug test again

[EX- (=former partner) in REAM (=paper)] + IN (=because of) + E (=drug, i.e. Ecstasy)

     
10/27 TRICKLE-DOWN Town Clerk and I’d arranged economic policy?

*(TOWN CLERK + I’D); “arranged” is anagram indicator

     
12 LUSTY Unwrap plush toy on vacation with vigour

<p>LUS<h> (“unwrap” means first and last letters are dropped) + T<o>Y (“on vacation” means middle letter is “emptied out”)

     
14 COMES TO Bluth invested in bulk-buy retailer – after losing second hundred, wakes up

ME (=Bluth, i.e. the compiler) in COST<c>O (=bulk-buy retailer; “losing second hundred (=C, in Roman numerals)” means second “c” is dropped)

     
15 AGREEMENT Union representative’s accommodating on the subject of space

[RE- (=on the subject of, regarding) + EM (=space, in printing)] in AGENT (=representative)

     
17 LEO Sign there’s some shale oil

Hidden (“some”) in “shaLE Oil”

     
18 STALL Delay as before, making India bat in the middle

STILL; “making India (=I, in radio telecommunications) bat” in the middle (=middle letter only) means letter “i” becomes “a”

     
20 DUMMIED Pretended 29 across dumps bad smell on island in sea

DUM<bo> (=entry at 29 across; “dumps bad small (=BO, i.e. body odour)” means letters “bo” are dropped) + [I (=island) in MED (=sea, i.e. Mediterranean); a feigned pass in e.g. rugby is dummied

     
21 MARINER Political journalist welcomes in European sailor

[IN + E (=European)] in MARR (=political journalist, i.e. Andrew Marr)

     
24 PRANG Papa and Nana’s cycling collision

P (=Papa, in radio telecommunications) + G-RAN (=Nana; “cycling” means first letter moves to end of word)

     
26 NIMBI Clouds issue, at first in support of Belfast doctor, maybe

NI (=Belfast, i.e. Northern Ireland) + MB (=doctor, i.e. Bachelor of Medicine) + I<ssue> (“at first” means first letter only)

     
29 DOC Diplodocus’s bones

Hidden (‘s, i.e. belonging to) in “diploDOCus”; bones is a slang word for a doctor, hence doc

     
     

10 comments on “Independent 11,269 / Bluth”

  1. Finding the clues easier to solve than parse is a characteristic of Bluth’s puzzles but they always provide an enjoyable challenge. This one was no exception, with ACNE my favourite.

    Many thanks to Bluth and to RR.

  2. Thanks both. Very rarely do I solve and parse everything unaided….this was no exception, but only just, as my sole unknown was Tokays to justify my entry of OKAYS – if I have ever drunk any I have forgotten, which doesn’t reveal much

  3. TFO @ 2 If you’ve ever drunk Tokay you’d almost certainly remember, as it’s a delicious dessert wine (though the grape it’s made from, Furmint, is becoming increasingly available as a dry white).

  4. I loved this. I may have said before how I really like the way this setter introduces real life into his puzzles….and in doing so opens up a whole host of possibilities for his compiling I guess.
    I’ve ticked TRICKLE DOWN, CHAOS, SWEEP and STALL but my favourite has to be the brilliant ACROSS THE BOARD.
    Many thanks indeed to Bluth and RR.

  5. I only half agree about the solve first parse later nature of Bluth’s puzzles. I often find I get a bit if the wordplay STILL or DUM- for example, which leads to a solution and then to the parsing. ACROSS THE BOARD TRICKLE DOWN were my favourites.

  6. After spotting SIRTE in column 6, I spent a ridiculous amount of time looking for a Libyan theme, but a fool’s errand. But very enjoyable so thanks Blyth and RatkojaRiku.

  7. Thanks RatkojaRiku – and thanks all.

    On the subject of solving/parsing order – as a solver myself, I don’t think I’ve ever completed a crossword without at least one clue (and normally several) being solved before parsing or seeing potential elements – as per PeterT’s description @6 – that lead me to potential solutions that I can reverse engineer a parsing for the rest etc etc. Backing a hunch and confirming it seems like an entirely normal part of solving to me rather than some glitch in the system.

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